Are project managers ready for the 21th challenges? A review of problem structuring methods for decision support

Numerous contemporary problems that project managers face can be considered as unstructured decision problems, characterized by multiple actors and perspectives, incommensurable and/or conflicting objectives, and important intangibles. This work environment demands that project managers to possess not only hard skills but also soft skills with the ability to take a management perspective and, above all, develop real leadership capabilities. In this paper, is presented a family of problem structured methods for decision support, aimed at assisting project managers in tackling complex problems. Problem structured methods are a family of soft operations research methods for decision support that assist groups of diverse composition to agree on a problem focus and make commitments to consequential action. Project management programs are challenged to implement these methodologies in such a way that it is organized around the key competences that a project manager needs in order to be more effective, work efficiently as members of interdisciplinary teams and successfully execute even a small project

Analysis of the concentration of emissions from the Spanish fleet of tugboats

At present, the sensitivity of society towards emissions in commercial maritime ports is increasing, which is reflected in the large number of studies on the control of emissions in them, perhaps because the most important commercial ports are located in cities with high population density. The objective of this work was to determine the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the activity of the Spanish tugboat fleet, studying the tugboat fleet of the eleven autonomous coastal Spanish communities from 2004 to 2017 and their impact on the carbon footprint of the country?s shipping sector. To do this, the methodology used by the International Maritime Organization for merchant ships to estimate the emissions of a tugboat fleet is formalized, and Gini concentration index methodology was applied to the concentration of emissions from this fleet. This has made it possible to obtain results on the distribution of the concentration of emissions from Spanish ports by region, age, and size, as well as to establish the profile of the tugboat port that pollutes the most and its carbon footprint. One of the results is that in the period analyzed, the concentration of emissions from the Spanish tugboat fleet increased if we looked at its distribution by region, and decreased if we look at its distribution by age and size. This is because tugboat activity was very different by region; however, their characteristics related to age and size evolved in a more homogeneous way

Influence of the Implantation of the Onshore Power Supply (OPS) System in Spanish Medium-Sized Ports on the Reduction in CO2 Emissions: The Case of the Port of Santander (Spain)

Society and its leaders are increasingly aware of the need to fight climate change and CO2 emissions in the search for sustainability. Maritime transport and ports are important sources of pollution and, while industry and the rest of the large-scale emitters have achieved considerable reductions in this area, “shipping” is still not advancing at the same rate, falling behind in this race. The aim of this article is to underline the importance of an early implementation of On-Shore Power Supply (OPS), Cold Ironing (CI) or Alternative Marine Power (AMP) by making a study of potentially avoidable CO2 emissions from vessels docked (on the basis of the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] and ENTEC [Environmental Engineering Consultancy, an environmental and engineering consultancy in UK] methods) close to urban areas in the Port of Santander (Spain). It is the first time potential reductions have been calculated for the last 11 years (2011–2021), distinguishing yearly emissions per type of vessel and providing real information to port authorities to prioritize the installation of this technological basis for the operation of piers/terminals to optimize investments and outcomes. In this case study, results demonstrate the outcomes of ROROs, ferries, and cruises being the first target of OPS implementation (reaching total of 37.95% of total emitted tons of CO2 during the period of study). As a clear conclusion to this paper, the reader can understand the enormous and growing potential of this technology multiplied by the continuous development, increase and implementation of green energies

Influence of the Implantation of the Onshore Power Supply (OPS) System in Spanish Medium-Sized Ports on the Reduction in CO₂ Emissions: The Case of the Port of Santander (Spain)

Society and its leaders are increasingly aware of the need to fight climate change and CO2 emissions in the search for sustainability. Maritime transport and ports are important sources of pollution and, while industry and the rest of the large-scale emitters have achieved considerable reductions in this area, “shipping” is still not advancing at the same rate, falling behind in this race. The aim of this article is to underline the importance of an early implementation of On-Shore Power Supply (OPS), Cold Ironing (CI) or Alternative Marine Power (AMP) by making a study of potentially avoidable CO2 emissions from vessels docked (on the basis of the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] and ENTEC [Environmental Engineering Consultancy, an environmental and engineering consultancy in UK] methods) close to urban areas in the Port of Santander (Spain). It is the first time potential reductions have been calculated for the last 11 years (2011–2021), distinguishing yearly emissions per type of vessel and providing real information to port authorities to prioritize the installation of this technological basis for the operation of piers/terminals to optimize investments and outcomes. In this case study, results demonstrate the outcomes of ROROs, ferries, and cruises being the first target of OPS implementation (reaching total of 37.95% of total emitted tons of CO2 during the period of study). As a clear conclusion to this paper, the reader can understand the enormous and growing potential of this technology multiplied by the continuous development, increase and implementation of green energies

Analysis of the Concentration of Emissions from the Spanish Fleet of Tugboats

At present, the sensitivity of society towards emissions in commercial maritime ports is increasing, which is reflected in the large number of studies on the control of emissions in them, perhaps because the most important commercial ports are located in cities with high population density. The objective of this work was to determine the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the activity of the Spanish tugboat fleet, studying the tugboat fleet of the eleven autonomous coastal Spanish communities from 2004 to 2017 and their impact on the carbon footprint of the country’s shipping sector. To do this, the methodology used by the International Maritime Organization for merchant ships to estimate the emissions of a tugboat fleet is formalized, and Gini concentration index methodology was applied to the concentration of emissions from this fleet. This has made it possible to obtain results on the distribution of the concentration of emissions from Spanish ports by region, age, and size, as well as to establish the profile of the tugboat port that pollutes the most and its carbon footprint. One of the results is that in the period analyzed, the concentration of emissions from the Spanish tugboat fleet increased if we looked at its distribution by region, and decreased if we look at its distribution by age and size. This is because tugboat activity was very different by region; however, their characteristics related to age and size evolved in a more homogeneous way

Analysis of the Concentration of Emissions from the Spanish Fleet of Tugboats

At present, the sensitivity of society towards emissions in commercial maritime ports is increasing, which is reflected in the large number of studies on the control of emissions in them, perhaps because the most important commercial ports are located in cities with high population density. The objective of this work was to determine the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the activity of the Spanish tugboat fleet, studying the tugboat fleet of the eleven autonomous coastal Spanish communities from 2004 to 2017 and their impact on the carbon footprint of the country’s shipping sector. To do this, the methodology used by the International Maritime Organization for merchant ships to estimate the emissions of a tugboat fleet is formalized, and Gini concentration index methodology was applied to the concentration of emissions from this fleet. This has made it possible to obtain results on the distribution of the concentration of emissions from Spanish ports by region, age, and size, as well as to establish the profile of the tugboat port that pollutes the most and its carbon footprint. One of the results is that in the period analyzed, the concentration of emissions from the Spanish tugboat fleet increased if we looked at its distribution by region, and decreased if we look at its distribution by age and size. This is because tugboat activity was very different by region; however, their characteristics related to age and size evolved in a more homogeneous way

Influence of the implantation of the onshore power supply (ops) system in spanish medium-sized ports on the reduction in CO2 emissions: the case of the port of Santander (Spain)

Society and its leaders are increasingly aware of the need to fight climate change and CO2 emissions in the search for sustainability. Maritime transport and ports are important sources of pollution and, while industry and the rest of the large-scale emitters have achieved considerable reductions in this area, ?shipping? is still not advancing at the same rate, falling behind in this race. The aim of this article is to underline the importance of an early implementation of On-Shore Power Supply (OPS), Cold Ironing (CI) or Alternative Marine Power (AMP) by making a study of potentially avoidable CO2 emissions from vessels docked (on the basis of the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] and ENTEC [Environmental Engineering Consultancy, an environmental and engineering consultancy in UK] methods) close to urban areas in the Port of Santander (Spain). It is the first time potential reductions have been calculated for the last 11 years (2011?2021), distinguishing yearly emissions per type of vessel and providing real information to port authorities to prioritize the installation of this technological basis for the operation of piers/terminals to optimize investments and outcomes. In this case study, results demonstrate the outcomes of ROROs, ferries, and cruises being the first target of OPS implementation (reaching total of 37.95% of total emitted tons of CO2 during the period of study). As a clear conclusion to this paper, the reader can understand the enormous and growing potential of this technology multiplied by the continuous development, increase and implementation of green energies

Viability and Performance Analysis, at a Physical Level, of a Maritime Communication Network on Medium Frequency

This paper analysed the potentialities that have not yet been exploited of the Automatic Vessel Identification System on Medium Frequency (AVISOMEF) that was previously presented to the scientific community. This system expanded the spectrum of possibilities of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). By the time AVISOMEF was presented, one of the unexpected benefits was that it could constitute a platform capable of supporting a Maritime Communication Network on Medium Frequency; all remotely located vessels could communicate with each other by using AVISOMEF, making use of the new established network, within the geographic area of implementation, without needing to use satellite techniques. Medium frequency propagation is stable and is not subject to coverage restrictions. To conduct this experiment, we collaborated with the Spanish Maritime Safety Agency (SASEMAR). It was thanks to them that we gathered real-time information about the nationwide maritime traffic that navigated through the Spanish Search and Rescue jurisdiction waters from 2018 to 2020

Influence of Ships Docking System in the Reduction of CO2 Emissions in Container Ports

Taking into account the increase in the emission of greenhouse gases produced by ships, during navigation and maneuvering in port, a direct consequence of the increase in maritime traffic, the international community has developed a broad set of regulations to limit such emissions. The installation in commercial ports of automatic mooring systems by means of vacuum suction cups, thus considerably reducing the time required to carry out ship mooring and unmooring maneuvers, is a factor that is considerably influencing the decrease in emissions of polluting gases in commercial ports with high traffic. The objective of the present work is to verify the influence of the use of the automatic mooring systems via vacuum suction cups on the emissions of polluting gases produced in the facilities destined to the traffic of container ships. To do this, two different calculation methods were used, Environmental Protection Agency and Environmental and Engineering Consultancy, to then compare the results of the two and thus obtain the reduction in emissions per twenty-foot equivalent unit in these terminals during mooring maneuvers. The paper concludes with a discussion on the values of the reductions in emissions obtained and the advantages of the installation of automatic mooring systems using vacuum suction cups in commercial ports located near population centers